


The Six Secrets of Pidge

by lanawrites94



Series: Plance AU Week 2018 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Pidge is mistaken for Trans, Pidge is mistaken for liking someone else, Plance AU Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 15:09:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14335149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanawrites94/pseuds/lanawrites94
Summary: Pidge is keeping secrets to the detriment of teamwork. Lance is concerned, so they strike a deal.





	The Six Secrets of Pidge

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! Welcome to Day 2 of Plance AU Week! The prompt is Canon Divergence. This was actually the first idea I had for Day 3, but at its core this is Canon Divergent, hence why you're seeing it today. Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you enjoy! As always, I'm terrible at tagging, so if you see something I should or should not have tagged, please drop a comment and let me know. Also, comments and feedback in general give me strength to get out of bed, so help a sister out! ;)

Katie Holt would be lying if she said she was 100% certain how she got herself in this situation. Every time she tried to backtrack, things got a little fuzzy. At least, they got fuzzy after Kerberos, after the day Matt stopped replying to her coded messages.

Two days after that Iverson went on the news to say the Shiro-Holt crew crashed on Kerberos, didn’t even have the decency to come to the house and lie in person.

From there Pidge tried to hack into the satellite feeds from home. It _could_ be done, but her connection was so weak that it was quickly proven to be a waste of time.

Breaking into Iverson’s office turned out to be more productive before she got caught and banned from facility. She was a lot more careful with her breaking and entering after she forged a new identity, cut off her hair, and started masquerading around the Garrison as Pidge Gunderson.

But that didn’t explain how she got here.

In the hallway.

Blocking Lance McClain of all people from entering her dorm room. Where BaeBae was not supposed to be.

“What’s wrong with you, Gunderson? I know I’m not the easiest guy to work with, but our teamwork has been worse than usual the past couple of days. I don’t know if you’re just not sleeping enough, if you’re eating enough—are you sick?”

_No. Probably not. Not unless periods count._

“I’m fine, Lance. Really.”

He eyed her suspiciously. “I don’t know. You’re definitely keeping secrets.”

“Everyone has secrets!” she said, ready to pull her hair out. “How about I don’t pry into the escapades of Loverboy Lance, and you stay out of my business in return. Sound good?”

Katie had tacked a smile on the end, trying to seem teasing and friendly—it wasn’t like she _enjoyed_ being a jerk to her teammates—but Lance wasn’t falling for it.

“Privacy is one thing, Pidge, but keeping secrets about things as important as the Kerberos mission obviously was to you? That’s not good for our team.”

Katie’s anger flared and fizzled in a matter of seconds. She hated to admit it, but Lance was right. She wasn’t actually doing herself any favors by being so distant from Lance and Hunk. If anything she was drawing more attention to herself. She sighed.

“You’re right, Lance. I do have secrets, and we need to not have any if we’re going to be a functional team, but can you respect that I’m not _ready_ to unload them all just yet? It’s not that I don’t trust you or Hunk. I’m just…trying to figure some stuff out and need some space. Can it be enough for now that I acknowledge my secrets exist and promise to talk to you if it gets to be too much?”

Lance smiled. “Honestly, Pidge, this is a lot better than I was expecting. It’s nice to know that you don’t _not_ trust us… Dude, when you’re ready to unload, I’ll be here. Just say the word and you’ll have my undivided attention.”

At that moment, the least dangerous of Katie’s secrets barked from inside her dorm room.

“Secret number one,” she whispered, thinking fast about the state of her room. “My pet…doesn’t have gills.”

She opened the door behind her and quickly slipped inside, pulling Lance along by the wrist.

 

If Lance was being perfectly honest, dog cuddles were the last thing he expected to get out of confronting Pidge. Not that he was complaining. BaeBae Gunderson was a _very_ good boy and exactly what Lance had needed after yet another disastrous run through the simulator.

“So…can I ask _why_ you have a dog in your room?” Lance was careful to keep his voice low but friendly, warry of people passing in the hallway and of the need to keep BaeBae happy and quiet. He glanced up at Pidge who sat at his desk, rapidly typing an essay while watching Lance play with his dog in the floor. Lance made a mental note to ask _later_ how that was even possible.

“Uh…well…” Pidge sighed and turned fully away from the computer. “Promise not to pry if I clam up?”

“Cross my heart.”

Pidge eyed him for just a moment. “My mom asked me to look after him for a week while she’s on a business trip. You wouldn’t believe how easy it was to get him in here through security, though. It was a cake walk.”

Lance laughed. “Actually, I would believe you. Hunk and I sneak out on a fairly regular basis for real food. For a government-run, near- _military_ school, the surveillance system is terrifyingly lax.”

Pidge snickered and Lance cursed his suddenly racing heart. Why couldn’t it get the memo that Lance liked girls and Pidge was definitely not a girl?

“So,” Lance said, clearing his throat after his voice cracked. “How, uh…how much longer is your mom going to be out of town?”

Pidge turned to glance at the calendar. “Four days? Honestly, I keep hoping she’ll have to extend it. I didn’t realize how lonely having a single would be, so I’m really glad to have BaeBae right now.”

Lance glanced around. It hadn’t really registered yet that there was indeed only one set of Garrison-provided furniture in the incredibly messy room. _How did he get a single?_

“So why don’t you get a room change? I’m sure they could find someone to switch with you.”

Pidge laughed, his voice a little higher than usual. “I like my privacy!” he said too quickly. “You know, the heart wants what the heart wants.”

Lance’s heart kicked into overdrive. Indeed it did. The heart. Want what it wants regardless of the carefully set parameters imposed by the brain. His heart didn’t care that Lance wanted to fall in love with a woman, wanted a romantic partner with whom he could have children the easy way and grow old while recounting his adventures amongst the stars. His heart wanted Pidge.

_Oh my God, I’m bi._

“So…uh…if you don’t want to trade rooms with anyone but it gets lonely in here by yourself…do you want to do homework with me and Hunk sometimes?”

“ _You_ do homework?” Pidge’s eyebrows were raised in the most adorable way possible.

Lance gave an indignant scowl to try and cover the blush rising in his cheeks. “Of course I do. How do you think I got promoted from Cargo? I was at the top of the class. I’m not as dumb as Iverson says. I think he’s…”

“What?”

“Uh… never mind.”

“Do you think he’s racist?”

Lance sighed. “I didn’t want to be the one to say it. I wasn’t sure if I was the only one to notice…didn’t want to find out I was just being overly sensitive.”

Pidge leaned back in his chair, lips quirked to the side. Lance tried his best not to study them, but he couldn’t help it. “I don’t know that he’s _racist_ as much as he’s…harsh. Hypercritical. I haven’t exactly been collecting data, but I’ve noticed that he’s less forgiving with cadets who _I_ think have the most untapped potential. Like you.”

Was it the lighting or was Pidge blushing now?

Lance let out another sigh. “Well that makes me feel better. I think.”

Pidge smiled. “It should. You _do_ have a lot of potential. Maybe if you redistribute some of your sneaking out time for _more_ studying, Iverson will see a difference and ease up.”

Lance smirked. “Only if you agree to go out with us one time… _After_ this little slobber bucket goes home,” he said, returning to baby talk and renewing his emphatic scratching behind BaeBae’s ears. The dog’s tail beat against the mercifully carpeted floor. “We wouldn’t want to leave him alone any more than necessary.”

“You know what? Since you seem to have the BaeBae seal of approval, I’ll give it a chance sometime. _After_ that test we have coming up in astrophysics.”

Lance groaned. “I don’t have any idea what I’m doing in that class.”

“Well…do you think Hunk could bring your stuff in here? We could do a study group now if you think he won’t alert everyone on the hall that I have a snuggle monster.”

Lance grinned. “If I warn him it’ll be fine.”

“Call him.”

 

They continued doing homework and studying together, just the three of them, even after BaeBae went home. Katie didn’t expect to enjoy their company as much as she did, and eventually had to admit it was a welcome relief to the previous monotony of her days. And their simulator performance improved, too.

She had recently finished sifting through all the data she’d filched from Iverson’s computer and determined that the Garrison knew absolutely nothing that could help her find her brother and father. She started building equipment of her own to scan the stars for her family’s radio chatter and was infinitely grateful that her team didn’t ask questions about it, even though it was in plain view whenever they came to her room to study.

She’d shared a couple more of her less dangerous secrets of her own volition.

“Secret number two: I have a deadly weakness to peanut butter cookies. As in, I’ll eat them until I explode if you’ll let me.”

Lance started carrying a zippy of peanut butter cookies and sharing them after every exam the three of them had together. He claimed his mom had been sending them from Cuba and he didn’t have the heart to tell her he didn’t like them, but Katie seriously doubted that. Not that she was going to call him on it. She didn’t have an alternate theory, and she didn’t want him to stop. Whether they managed to slip through Customs or were made in the public kitchens in the dead of night, Lance’s cookies tasted like home.

“Secret number three: I sweat a lot when I’m nervous. And when I’m not nervous. For the love of God, if I turn on a fan, don’t touch it unless you’re going to turn it up.”

That one resulted in a lot more sympathy than their being grossed out, as she’d expected them to be. After that little disclosure she noticed Lance started carrying a little battery-powered fan and always offered it when she looked uncomfortable. Where he got it, she had no clue.

It was becoming distressingly easy to share herself with Lance, and she almost slipped up several times, almost told him little things that a real boy would never say or things that only the daughter of Commander Holt would know. It was getting harder by the day to keep her final secrets, and she knew she would either have to withdraw from him or tell him the truth. The thought of excluding her teammates from her life _now_ was almost as painful as hearing Matt was going on the Kerberos mission without her. They had become such an integral, necessary part of her life that she couldn’t bear being at the Garrison without them. And a little voice in the back of her mind kept whispering, _Lance deserves to know_.

Which was why she finally gave in when he asked her to sneak out on a Friday night. The weather in the upper atmosphere was supposed to be horrendous so it wasn’t like she’d be able to hear the endless drabble about “Voltron” anyway. Hunk would be there, and he deserved to know, too.

She met them at the end of her hall and they snuck out, overly warry despite the abysmal security. One could never be too careful.

Katie wasn’t sure what she’d expected from Lance. A nightclub full of drunk people he could hit on? A seedy little bar full of other cadets who had snuck out?

Whatever she expected, it _wasn’t_ a cute little arcade that sold amazingly aromatic pizza and gourmet milkshakes.

“I’m in _heaven_ ,” she said when they entered and she got a whiff of the place. “You know, I would’ve come months ago if you had said it was a place like _this_!”

Lance smirked. “Well, I wanted you to come for the team bonding, not the venue.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Pidge, you’ve gotta try the calzones. They are to _die_ for.”

She smiled. “How big are they?”

Both boys frowned and Katie shrugged.

“I don’t know if either of you have noticed, but I’m _tiny._ I don’t eat as much as either of you guys.”

Lance snorted. “There’s hope for you yet, munchkin. Boys don’t generally stop growing until they hit their twenties.”

Katie rolled her eyes but didn’t comment. That would be cleared up soon enough.

They ordered their food (a calzone full of real vegetables for Katie, but only after they promised to-go boxes were a thing here) and sat down with their drinks. Butterflies turned to angry hornets in Katie’s stomach, but she’d made up her mind. No amount of nerves was going to change it. Her team deserved to know, because they’d been nothing if not trustworthy.

She took a deep breath. “Lance, I’m ready to unload that last secret,” she said.

He studied her for just a moment before he frowned. “Are you sure? Because you don’t look ready.”

“I’m sorry, what are we talking about?” Hunk asked.

“Right before Pidge got more sociable we had a little heart-to-heart. I agreed to leave him alone about the secrets if he promised to tell m—us…if things got to be too much. I swear I told you about that already.

“ _However_ , Pidge you don’t look like you’re ready to share with the class. And you don’t _have_ to, okay? I get it.”

Katie shook her head and took a long drink of her water. Everyone was quiet when the waitress arrived with their food and until she was gone.

“You guys deserve to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

“What? That you’re trans?” Hunk asked. “If it makes you feel any better I had no idea until I found the box of tampons in your bathroom. In my defense, I was looking for toilet paper.”

Katie and Lance’s incredulous “What?”s were simultaneous and loud enough to earn them a glare from a passing bus boy.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry! Was that not the secret?”

Katie put her head on the table to stoop it from spinning.

“What do you mean, trans?” Lance asked.

“Okay, how about this, Pidge? We’ll all share an embarrassing and/or potentially paradigm-shifting secret, because I’m _so_ sorry. I didn’t mean to… Except, I don’t really have any secrets like that. Uh…I do have _one_ that’s embarrassing, but it’s not nearly so important.”

Katie looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. “Hang on a second, Lance, and I will explain everything. Hunk, hit me with your best shot.”

“Okay…uh, so I hate Girl Scout cookies, but I always buy a box anyway because I can’t say no to their Bambi eyes.”

Katie burst out laughing and had to wipe tears from her eyes. “Okay. If you’re really serious about making this up to me, you can buy me a box of _Tag-a-Longs_ every year for the foreseeable future.”

Lance looked like he might cry. “I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

“I just outed Pidge as a transman,” Hunk said.

Katie shook her head. “No, you didn’t, Hunk. I’m not transgender. I’m biologically female and I like it that way. ‘Pidge’ is a nickname my brother gave me years ago. Gunderson is my mother’s maiden name. Secret number four: my name is Katie. My father is Commander Holt, my brother is Matthew Holt, and Takeshi Shirogane is a very dear friend of my family. That’s why I ‘go ballistic’ every time Iverson says the Kerberos team _crashed_ due to pilot error.”

Lance folded his hands in front of his face like he was praying. He was breathing deeply and more furiously flushed than Katie had thought anyone could.

“Okay. Let me get this straight. You’re a girl. And you like it that way. There is no dysphoria going on here.”

“Right.”

“So why did you come to the Garrison pretending to be a boy?”

“Because Iverson banned Katie Holt from campus when she got caught hacking into his computer looking for evidence on the Kerberos mission. There isn’t any, by the way. Proof that they crashed. There’s a landing site. Some of their equipment is still there, but there are no signs of them or any kind of departure. I’m still here so I can scan for radio chatter.”

Lance was frowning, processing the new information.

“But…why here?” Hunk asked. “You could scan for radio chatter from home just as easily, if not more easily.”

Katie couldn’t help but flush. “So I guess here’s secret number five… I didn’t leave because…because of you guys. I mean, the first time I actually smiled, laughed, _enjoyed myself_ since Matt stopped answering my transmissions? It was with you guys, when I finally started _talking_ instead of shutting you out. I thought at first that it was just because I had BaeBae with me, but then it didn’t end when he went home.”

Nobody said anything. Katie picked up her calzone and took a bite. It had gone cold but it was still amazing.

Neither of the boys followed suit, still processing.

The food turned to sand in her throat.

“I’m trusting you guys because you’ve been way better friends than I deserve, the best friends I’ve ever had besides my brother. I’m not asking you to help me. I just thought you deserved to know.”

Lance gave a strained smile. “If you’re worried about us turning you in, don’t be. Shiro’s my hero, and you’re my friend. If there’s anything I _can_ do to help you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Katie hid her face in her drink to obscure her blush. “Thank you.”

“Your turn, Lance!” Hunk said.

“Excuse me?”

“Pidge and I both just shared a pretty personal secret. Now it’s your turn. By the way, do you want us to keep calling you Pidge all the time or can we—”

“Stick with Pidge. That way you’re less likely to slip up when it counts.”

“Gotcha. Now go, Lance! Bare your soul!”

“Jeez, Hunk,” Lance said, rubbing his neck and looking anywhere but across the table at Katie. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have any secrets; I’m an open book.”

Hunk smirked at Katie and winked. “Uh-huh. I’ll believe that when pigs fly.”

Lance glanced at his best friend, at Katie, back at Hunk, and scowled.

“Oh, fine, though you kind of rendered my secret moot… So until today—like, a few minutes ago—I was questioning my sexuality. Are you happy now, Hunk?”

“Ecstatic.”

Katie frowned. “Why only until a few minutes ago?” she asked. “Are you alright?”

“Oh my God,” Hunk muttered. “’Scuse me. I’ll be right back.” He took a slice of his cold pizza with him and wandered over to the games.

“Traitor,” Lance muttered.

“What’s going on?” Katie asked.

“Uh…” Lance hid behind his watered-down ginger ale.

“Wait…you were questioning your sexuality because of me? Because you thought I was a guy? Did I put you off all guys? I’m sorry.”

Lance choked on his drink, choked and spluttered and gasped for air.

Katie shot around the table to thump his back. “What did I say? Are you okay?”

“Oh, God,” Lance rasped when he could finally breathe again. “Sorry about that. I’m fine. Uh…no, you didn’t put me off guys,” he said. “Exactly the opposite.”

“I’ve been more frequently confused tonight than ever before in my life. Please elaborate.” She returned to her seat, mouth frowning and eyes furrowed.

Lance grinned in spite of his frustration, deciding to just go for it. “Is it really so hard for you to believe I find you attractive?”

Katie just stared at him, eyes wide. “I must be hearing things. Or hallucinating. What are the odds they dropped something weird in my calzone?”

“Virtually non-existent. You’re not hearing things, Pidge. You’re a fascinating person. You’re crazy-smart and opinionated, you know what you want, and you’re unpredictable. And did I mention you’re beautiful?”

_Stick a fork in me. I’m done._

Katie was certain she could’ve fried an egg on her face. She was so hot and sweaty she was surprised she wasn’t sliding off the vinyl chair. She looked up to see Lance offering his pocket fan, motor already spinning, with a fond smile on his face.

“Could they have dropped something weird in your food?”

“I haven’t touched it yet.”

 

Pidge squeezed his eyes shut and looked away.

No. _She_ squeezed _her_ eyes shut.

_This is going to take some getting used to._

Lance touched her hand, just brushed it with his fingers, and sighed in relief when she didn’t pull away.

“Pidge, I think you’re pretty. I was about this close to asking you out before tonight, and secret number four hasn’t changed that. I’d still love to take you on a date sometime, but I’m just happy to be your friend. I know you’ve got a lot going on, with your family and Shiro and keeping up your disguise… I promise that I will be whatever you need me to be… even if you need me to take a step back and give you some space. Or a lot of space. Just say the word.”

She didn’t open her eyes, but she turned her hand to brush her fingers against his as a single tear ran down her face. “Thank you” was all she said, and he read her lips more than he heard her, but it was more than enough.

 

Pidge didn’t ask Lance to give her space, but she didn’t give him any other kind of an answer, either, which was fine. He was just happy to be near her, and the nights she invited him to sit on the roof with her were always the highlight of his week. They didn’t talk much, but he liked that she preferred his company to listening to the stars alone.

That one night, though. That last Monday night changed their lives forever. It was the night Shiro crashed in the dessert and they ran into Keith while trying to save him.

Keith’s driving terrified Lance, but it wasn’t until they actually got to the shack and Shiro woke up that Lance got nervous. Like, really nervous.

When Shiro sat up, holding his head and groaning, Pidge—Katie…they could call her Katie, now, couldn’t they?—threw herself at him and he caught her on reflex.

“Takeshi!” she cried, voice trembling. “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re alive!” She pulled back and was indeed crying. “Where are my dad and brother? What happened to you guys?”

“Uh…I’m sorry. Who are you?”

“Katie Holt. You went to Kerberos with my dad and brother. _Where are they?_ ”

“I wish I knew…”

“Pidge,” Lance said softly. “Maybe you should give him some space. He just woke up, and I’m sure he’s been through a lot.”

Her face was blank when she finally turned around and left the shack without a word.

Not for the first time in his life, Lance thought his heart might break. Here, he’d confessed his feelings for Pidge a few weeks ago, and she hadn’t answered him because she’d been pining for another man, for Takeshi Shirogane, for Lance’s hero with whom he could never compete. He felt stupid. And hurt. Pidge hadn’t done anything wrong…but after that he took every opportunity to flirt, to try and forget the ache in his chest.

It never helped.

 

Lance didn’t question his assumptions about Pidge and Shiro’s relationship until the space base. Pidge had been acting like there’d never been anything between them—which there hadn’t, really—but something felt off. He didn’t know what. So he took a chance.

“Quick question. Does Allura talk about me when I’m not in the room?”

“ _All_ the time,” Hunk answered, as if it was second nature to tease Lance. It probably was by now. And Lance thought his friend _might_ be a little bitter about his sudden clamming up and not keeping a diary for Hunk to snoop in, but he _really_ didn’t want to talk about this. “She’s like ‘Ooh, Lance. He looks so fine, I’m all a twitter.’ Then she turns red and makes me swear not to tell anyone.”

Lance glanced at Pidge. She was frowning and typing furiously. He decided to push _just_ a little more—“I knew it!”—and was promptly backhanded by the sentry she’d been hacking.

“ _Whoops_ ,” came her intensely sarcastic apology.

So what did that mean?

 

“Man, I think you have some explaining to do,” Hunk said, cornering Lance on the way to their hangers after the others had split off. They were supposed to be getting ready to rescue Allura, but evidently Hunk thought that could wait.

“What are you talking about?”

“For _weeks_ before we left Earth all I heard from you was how wonderful and amazing Pidge is, and then the next thing I know you’re flirting with Allura and then provoking the poor girl with it. What’s your deal?”

“To be fair, you helped with that. You didn’t have to respond the way you did.”

“Okay, but you _told_ Pidge you liked her. So what happened?”

“She doesn’t like me?”

“And what, pray tell, makes you think that?”

“Uh, she obviously likes Shiro.”

“Uh, no she doesn’t!”

Lance raised his eyebrows. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, really. For one thing, she and I have a bet going on how long it’ll be before he and Keith get together. For another, he’s ten years her senior and she’s not interested. Lastly, and I want you to listen very carefully for this one: _she ships Sheith!_ ”

“I doubt that. The heart wants what the heart wants. I bet she’s lying to you.”

“Whether you believe me or not, I can promise you her heart does _not_ want Shiro. She’s already called being maid of honor at his and Keith’s wedding because he’s _like her brother_. Wait. Would he and Keith even have a maid of honor since they’re both dudes?”

“Dude, I don’t know. That would be up to them if this hypothetical wedding ever takes place!”

Hunk sighed and headed off toward his hanger. “Anyway, I think you and Pidge need to talk. And for the love of God, stop teasing her.”

Lance didn’t get a chance to talk with her because right after they rescued Allura, the Paladins got separated in the wormhole. He forgot about her completely in his excitement over the mermaids, and after she found them he was too ashamed of himself to talk to her. He didn’t deserve her. He forgot about her for a whole two quintants for a piece of tail. _Literally_. He felt like scum.

It wasn’t until the space mall, where she literally dragged him by the wrist to steal spare change from the fountain that he forgot about his guilt. This was why he liked Pidge. She was fun, she was spontaneous, she was adventurous, over the top, and amazing. Her smile was more beautiful than any sunset, and he would do anything to see it more often.

 

They had a lot of downtime while Shiro and Keith were on the Blade of Marmora base, and they couldn’t all stay on the bridge for forty vargas straight without driving each other insane, so they stood watch in shifts. Lance spent his free time in the Green Lion’s hanger with Pidge while she experimented with adapters and wires, doing everything and anything she could think of to get from the auxiliary cable of the _Mercury Gameflux II_ to the Castleship’s holoscreens.

They sat in silence for a while, Lance just watching and occasionally pushing a pouch of water within her field of vision to remind her to stay hydrated.

He was about to give up and go take a nap when her work slowed and she finally spoke.

“What changed?” she asked, voice so soft he almost thought he’d imagined it.

“Pardon?”

“What changed, Lance? At the arcade, you said I was pretty, that you’d like to take me on a date, and you’d be whatever I needed you to be. But the second we got to space you started flirting with every female with a pulse. I just want…I just need to know…what changed your mind about me?”

“Oh, Pidge,” Lance whispered. Her shoulders were shaking and he felt close to tears himself. This was all his fault. He’d never meant to hurt her. “I just…I got confused. I thought…I thought you hadn’t answered me because of Shiro. I mean, you were so happy to see him awake, and so upset when he didn’t remember you. I thought you liked him, and I didn’t want to get in the way of that.”

She was audibly crying now and Lance didn’t know what to do. He wanted to reach out and hold her, but he was afraid it wouldn’t be welcome. He threw caution to the artificial wind and tried anyway. She curled into him and shuddered. Lance stroked her honey-red curls and cursed himself for being a moron.

“It’s no excuse for my behavior but…I had no idea how you felt. You never gave me an answer, and then Shiro—”

“Secret number six,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight, burying her face in his chest. “I’ve had a crush on you this whole time, dummy.”


End file.
